


Subtleties

by hibiren



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, Coffee, Comfort No Hurt, Cute, Eventual Romance, Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Humor, Gladnis, Hands, Humor, IgNoct, Kissing, Late Night Conversations, Lazy Mornings, M/M, OT4, One Shot Collection, Photography, Promnis - Freeform, Promptis - Freeform, Sharing a Bed, Short & Sweet, Snacks & Snack Food, Sparring, Sunsets, Sweet, Touching, gladnoct - Freeform, promptio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:33:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: "Subtle, adj; (especially of a change or distinction) so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe."A collection of scenarios in which the chocobros find themselves exchanging the slightest glances or brushing of hands... and they just realize how hard they've fallen for each other.Each pairing is its own chapter.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	1. Gladnis

**Author's Note:**

> This is, if I recall, the first time I've written something like this! It's short, sweet, and I've done my best with each ship! I hope you all enjoy the variety :D I'm trying to keep up with writing and I'm glad today ended productively. Sorry for the weird posting hours, I was too excited after finishing this to wait to share! I hope that each pairing's work is okay, I know my main focus on writing is gladnis & promptis but I enjoy writing other ships from time to time as well, so this was a fun experience for me!
> 
> [definition quoted from google, Oxford's search results]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Gladio share a comfortable early morning together.

Gladio and Ignis usually shared a bed whenever they stayed at a hotel and they tended to think nothing of it. It was one morning that Ignis thought otherwise. It was an early morning, a quick shower, and an easy breakfast for Ignis, so that he could prepare himself to go about their day with a clear mind, and a plan. They had to pay more attention when traveling now, and Ignis knew he had to do his best to fulfill his duty as Tactician.

Even if it meant getting up early on a day when he wanted nothing more than to stay in bed, wide awake despite the time, enjoying Gladio’s radiating warmth that made the thin sheets or chill of the night no longer matter. If he were more bold, he might ask to sleep just a bit closer but he always did what he could to maintain respectful distance. The only exceptions seemed to be when Gladio had been drinking, because sometimes he would just wrap his arms around Ignis’ slender waist, holding him gently as he slipped off into a dream, muttering something he likely read in one of his cheesy romance books into Ignis’ hair. It still made Ignis blush nonetheless, not that he would ever let that be seen.

It was in the way Gladio held out a cup of fresh-brewed coffee to him, fixed just the way he liked it - for the split second that their hands touched as Ignis accepted the cup, he wondered what was on Gladio’s mind as their eyes met. Gladio just smiled as he pulled his hand away and went back over to the chair at the corner of the room, picked up his book and continued to read. He, too, had a cup of coffee, but it was unattended on the table beside where he sat.

Ignis went over to the balcony, sipping from his cup with grateful leisure as he leaned against the railing with his other gloved palm. A gentle breeze tickled across his face, and it left the air light and pleasant despite the slow-building heat as the sun parted higher and higher from the horizon. It was likely going to be a hot day, but with the cold temperature from the prior night lingering in Ignis’ bones, the coffee, and silent, comfortable company just feet away helped him warm up already.


	2. Gladnoct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and Gladio have a sparring match to determine how the rest of their morning goes.

“Noct, you gotta focus on me,” Gladio chided, raising his sparring sword as Noctis raised his in turn.

“Shut up, I _am_ focusing on you,” countered the Prince, frustrated flush lighting his face as he tried to catch his breath. It was an early morning for both of them - Gladio’s idea - and the two stood paces apart, swords at the ready, waiting for the other. Noctis’ idea - that they use real swords - was met with a raised eyebrow and a shrug, but in the end Gladio had agreed. Fighting with sticks was one thing, but it was better to get practice in with the real thing. Gladio had always been that way.

“Alright, let’s try that again. You almost had it last time. On three,” Gladio called.

“One.”

Noctis braced himself.

“Two.”

Gladio lowered his stance, shifting his weight, ready to counter.

“Three!”

Noctis charged. Sparks flew between their swords as they clashed, and Noctis swore when his hand slipped as Gladio moved to sweep his legs out from under him, and swore again when Gladio had him pinned faster than he could blink.

“Looks like I win this one, Princess.”

“Ugh.”

“Look,” Gladio said, strangely calm despite his words, “If you wanna perfect that move, I’m not gonna go easy on you. You know that.”

“...I do,” Noctis admitted, guilt and embarrassment undertoning his confession. Slowly, one hand reached up to touch Gladio’s wrist, and their eyes met. They stared at each other for a long moment and the sounds of the forest echoed around them in their silence.

When Noctis pulled his knees up to his chest and kicked his leg out, Gladio had almost been expecting it. Almost. The Shield just barely managed to dodge the kick as Noctis freed himself, rolling a few feet away to grab his sword and ready himself to warp into his next counterattack.

“I do, but I’m not done yet,” the Prince added, a triumphant smirk on his face. “Don’t act like you’ve beaten me. We’re still even.”

“Fine. You win this next match, and we can stop sparring for the morning and eat breakfast,” Gladio retorted, “If I beat you; we do twenty laps around the lake, and _then_ we can eat breakfast. If you can still stand after that.”

Somewhere in the distance, Noctis could swear he heard Ignis chuckling. Prompto, too. If Noctis had spectators to this match, he definitely couldn’t afford to lose. Turns out, his audience was watching with great interest from their seating in the haven’s tent.

“You’re on.”


	3. Promptis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto makes campfire nachos, and Noctis joins him in sharing them.

“Dude, you _gotta_ try this,” Prompto managed past a mouthful of chips. He’d made improvised campfire nachos as a snack in their downtime before dinner and was more than pleased with the results - a hot (literally and figuratively) mess of cheese, salsa, and somewhat sloppily-cut large chunks of some kind of pepper. Noctis looked at it skeptically, then looked at Prompto as he fought to control a stray disobedient string of cheese off the end of his next chip and couldn’t help but laugh.

“I, uh, think we should leave the cooking to Iggy, shouldn’t we,” Noctis mused, picking up the mostly clean end of a chip with two fingers and shoveling some salsa onto it, careful to avoid the peppers. With the way Prompto fanned his mouth and his face lit up, it was sure to be some spicy stuff. “I mean, it doesn’t look too bad, but that’s gotta be some insane salsa. You’re sweating, dude - ”

“Ah - ah! It is, it’s so _spicy - ffffffff_ \- ” Even downing the rest of his water bottle seemed to do nothing to soothe the burning in Prompto’s poor mouth.

As if giving it a second thought, Noctis tipped the edge of the chip over and some of the salsa slid back onto the plate, leaving only a glob of cheese behind. He could practically smell the spice, the way it tickled the inside of his nose and left an unpleasantly peppery numbness behind.

But, to humor Prompto, he decided to eat it anyway. And it was _spicy._ One of the hottest things he’d ever eaten. “What did you _put_ in this?!” Noctis asked frantically as he opened his mouth and swore he saw flames coming out of it. He went to reach for a water bottle but there were no more left; with a frustrated groan, Noctis brandished his hand and held up the potion bottle he’d summoned against his tongue, wondering, _is this going to hurt? Would this even work??_

“Wait - wait!!” Prompto blurted, past a laugh as he reached out to snatch the bottle away, “Here. Sorry, I… forgot I had my canteen too. There’s water in it. I wouldn’t do that - potions, uh, don’t taste good.”

“How would you know?” Noctis asked, incredulous, after taking the small container from Prompto, swearing he felt the tingle of spice in his fingertips as he accepted the bottle. Was it the peppers, his imagination, or something else? “You ever tried to drink one?”

“Not exactly. I tried to smell one once, and then some of it got in my nose, and I couldn’t get it out for days. It made everything smell and even kinda taste like metal. Gross.” Prompto stuck his tongue out as if he remembered the awful flavor.

“All I taste is fire, so metal sounds pretty tasty right about now.”

They both shared a laugh as the heat in their mouths began to die down. It was days like this that made Prompto and Noctis happy to be able to spend time together, without a care in the world, when for just a while it was nothing more than a camping trip. If only the rest of their days could be like that, spent maybe even just the two of them goofing off and staying up late, playing games, watching the stars, cuddling up next to each other if it got too cold… there was so much still that Noctis wanted to do, and he felt like they were only running out of time as the days passed.


	4. Promnis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto asks if he can help Ignis, and the night doesn't go as he thought it would.

Prompto thought he could sneak away for the day, but he was wrong - Ignis caught him on the way out of the hotel room at Galdin and stopped him with a quick,

“Where are you heading off to, Prompto?”

As if caught with his hand in a cookie jar, Prompto blanched, then turned to hide the blooming embarrassment in his cheeks.

“Uh… out to the beach, I was gonna take some pictures. Lighting’s pretty good right now, since it’s the middle of the day. I can get a few good shots of the dock, maybe some of the shore…”

“Ah.” Ignis smiled - was it a hint of sadness Prompto thought he saw? - and nodded understandingly. “I see. Gladiolus and Noctis are out fishing, so, you don’t need to worry about them interrupting you. As for me, I - ”

Before Prompto could stop himself, he blurted, “Want to come with me?”

“Me? And what use would I be of, to you? I would be afraid of getting in your way,” Ignis admitted, looking down at the book in his hands. His old recipe notebook. Before Prompto had walked in, it looked like he’d been taking notes.

“Well, it’s, um… it’s been a while since we’ve had time just the two of us… hasn’t it? And, maybe… if you’d like, we could set up the camping stove and I could… I dunno… maybe help you take pictures of your cooking, for your notebook? If… if you’d like that, I mean,” Prompto rushed, as his grip tightened around his camera. Usually he was a lot better at talking, more confident, but there was something about the way Ignis carried himself that Prompto found subtly intimidating; he wished he could live his life with the kind of confidence Ignis effortlessly showed.

“Prompto,” Ignis said softly, his name a whisper on the Tactician’s lips as he stepped closer. His gloved hand rested over Prompto’s on the camera draped around his neck, and he offered a calming, reassuring smile. That same smile he always gave whenever Prompto was feeling anxious that just melted all of his worry down to near nothing.

“Yeah?”

“I’d love to. Thank you. You’re helping me more than you think.”

“Glad to be of service,” Prompto spluttered, just happy that his embarrassment was - hopefully - no longer obvious. It was time to show Ignis his best work. He hoped Ignis thought that whatever printed at the end of the day would be worth keeping. And it was.

There was one picture that Prompto kept to himself at the end of the night, however. A self-timed picture. Within its frame: Prompto and Ignis on the dock with the sunset reflecting off of their clothes, sparkling like glitter off of the surface of the waves, painting the subtle brush of their lips together in beautiful orange-pink, shadowing their faces just enough to hide the emotions they knew they both felt but couldn’t bring themselves to say. This one would stay just between them… for a while.


	5. Promptio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio comforts Prompto in the middle of the night.

Prompto always slept with earbuds in his ears. Always slept with music playing, a random selection of his entire collection. Anything to keep his own nightmares away, anything to keep his mind distracted enough to help him sleep.

Gladio noticed one night that Prompto curled just a little tighter into his usual ball under the blankets and put his book down to go over to Prompto’s bed and gently tuck the blankets around the blond. Usually, Gladio shared a room with Ignis, but given that Noctis had an injury that needed constant care and Ignis had access to all the curatives and the home recipes for pretty much every pain remedy under the sun, it was better for them to change their sleeping arrangements for a while.

Noctis had mentioned something about Prompto being a restless sleeper, but Gladio never knew exactly what he meant until now.

Nightmares, most likely. Especially in the way Prompto’s mouth opened, closed, opened again and let out a garbled noise that fell somewhere between words and nonsense. A stray tear slipped from Prompto’s eyes and Gladio slowly sat down onto the mattress, carefully wiping the tear away with the corner of the sheets.

“Hey, Prompto, it’s alright,” Gladio said, voice hushed, as he adjusted his position enough on the bed so that he was cradling Prompto’s back against his chest and had his arms gently wrapped around him. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

And just like that Prompto stilled, his breathing slowed to a sleepy rhythm, and the tears stopped. He relaxed into Gladio’s arms as if he’d just been dreaming normally the whole time.

Even if the next morning, Prompto didn’t remember what happened, Gladio was just glad he could help in the end. Waking up next to Prompto that morning was a bit of a surprise for both of them (as Gladio remembered and Prompto tried to blink the sleepy confusion out of his eyes) but it was nice to spend the morning in peaceful quiet.


	6. Ignoct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Noctis wait out a storm, stuck in the Regalia together.

They were supposed to only have been gone for an hour at the most, but the Regalia seemed to disagree with that plan. While the car usually drove without a problem, it must have had something to say about the late-night drives, and it wasn’t something pleasant. The weather must have been in agreement, because what started off as a cloudless day quickly gave way to angry, blooming soot-black clouds spilling lightning and pounding rain down upon the road to the point that it was too flooded, too difficult to see even with the windshield wipers at full speed.

Ignis sighed and rested his head on his hands that were clasped against the steering wheel. He had called Gladiolus and Prompto to come meet them, hopefully they would be quick if they still had their chocobos - but in the meantime it looked like they were stranded, in the pouring rain, with a car that refused to move. It was a good thing they’d been able to procure some food, but Noctis was intent to make sure their supply was “still good” - as he liked to say - by sampling a few chips from the closest bag.

“Noctis,” Ignis said, as soon as he heard the crumple of plastic and the pause as Noctis stopped mid-chew to respond, mouth full,

“Mhm?”

“What did I tell you about waiting until we returned back to the hotel to eat what we’ve bought?”

“But I’m hungry,” Noctis stated simply, finishing his mouthful but begrudgingly rolling the open bag shut and stuffing it back with the rest of the food.

“How about this,” Ignis said, finding it difficult to raise his voice over the sound of the rain hitting the car, “Would you like to come up here, and see if we can get a radio signal? You can pick the station and we can listen to whatever you like until the others arrive to help us, ah, hopefully not have to swim to safety.”

“Hm, alright.”

With some difficulty, Noctis climbed into the passenger’s front side and plopped himself down, fiddling with the dials and buttons on the Regalia’s dashboard. Static sputtered through the car’s interior for a brief moment as the radio turned on, but eventually Noctis settled on a station and Ignis found himself pleasantly surprised.

“I didn’t know you cared for anything other than music from video games,” Ignis half-joked as Noctis shrugged and dropped the back of his seat so he could lay back and stare up at the roof of the car. Ignis - shrugging equally as carefree now - dropped his seat as far back as it would go and rested his head on the headrest, his left hand tucked against his chest while the other just rested off to the side.

“This is… kinda nice, isn’t it, Iggy?” Noctis asked, and that was when Ignis realized Noctis’ hand was finding its way against his palm, and he was twining their fingers together and giving him a gentle squeeze. The Prince followed with, softly, “You think they’ll get here any time soon?”

“I know they will.”

Ignis found himself smiling but left his eyes closed, hoping that the strange peace of the moment would last longer than the blink he was afraid it would turn out to be if he moved, breathed, did anything to ruin the illusion of the moment.

“Hopefully they’re bringing umbrellas with them.”

“Ah, I agree…”


	7. All Together [OT4]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four share a meal together, and end up sharing a little more of themselves as well...

The roadtrip itself was a lot of strain on the four of them, having to get used to going from all having their own space, _privacy,_ the luxury they soon realized they could no longer afford - but it was something that the four wouldn’t give up for the world. Even though they all had jobs to do, they just couldn’t help but enjoy each others’ company perhaps a bit too much in the nights they spent together, just talking, getting to know each other, reminiscing and telling stories, sharing great food around a warm campfire with the starry sky over their heads as a backdrop to their adventures.

Forget all the days that it was too hot, too cold, rainy, humid, or otherwise - the four were just glad to be able to experience this adventure together. It was the first real time in all the years the four had known each other that they actually _really_ got to know each other. As the days progressed they picked up on each others’ favorite snacks, the small things they did when they were upset, angry, happy, nervous, excited… and they all worked like clockwork together.

And somewhat selfishly, deep down, all of them wanted to just stay on the road forever. Just the four of them, camping, cooking under an open sky, staying in a hotel on occasion, and just enjoying getting to see the world for themselves and not through the window of a car or an all-too-formal building. They were their own tour guides, and they couldn’t be more thrilled.

They realized something bigger was happening between them one night when Ignis had just finished dinner: a warm, hearty, spiced curry with rice. Prompto scooped the rice onto the plates and handed them to Gladio, who scooped a ladle of curry from the pot over the rice, then to Ignis who sprinkled one last garnish of spices (maybe a bit too dramatically) on top before handing the plate to Noctis. He usually was served first, just out of Ignis’ habit for sticking to tradition. He was always the first to eat, too.

Prompto was next, and he sat in his chair beside Noctis with a smile on his face and the end of the spoon sticking out of his mouth as he savored the taste.

“This is so good,” Prompto managed past the spoon, and Ignis chuckled.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah! This is great!” Noctis added.

“Hey, wait for me, I wanna taste too,” Gladio said, waiting for Ignis to finish his ritualistic spice-sprinkle before sitting down in the chair on Noctis’ other side. Ignis, with his own plate, sat down next to Gladio and that was when the three stood up - much to Ignis’ surprise - and each took a pinch from Ignis’ herb container and sprinkled it, in that same dramatic way, over the top of his curry, each meeting eyes with him in a silent, unmatchingly grateful thanks for all he did.

Ignis couldn’t help the laugh that followed after watching the awkward display, and through his chuckles he managed, “I don’t believe this, you’re all quite ridiculous.”

Noctis put down his spoon and rested his hand on Ignis’ knee. Gladio’s hand went to Ignis’ shoulder and gave a squeeze. With a flustered expression and a shrug, Prompto plopped his hand on Ignis’ other shoulder and offered a nervous smile.

“We love you, Iggy.” Gladio was the first to speak, followed by Noctis, and then Prompto as well.

“I love you all too,” Ignis said, speaking through tears he never realized were falling until one slipped down his cheek and onto his shirt. “So very much.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone liked it! I know it's not as long as what I usually write but I've had this ficlet series idea for so long, and as I've been going through my drafts I finally found the way I wanted to go about finishing it! I've been trying to write a lot to keep my mind off of all the stress I'm going through in real life and so far it's been doing a little good in helping me stay distracted! I hope everyone else has been managing to stay distracted too u v u
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
